The Fall
by Preselier
Summary: London, 2135 a young wanderer wants to find peace within the world and within himself. But on his quest he must face terrible consequences that come with bad decisions...


DISCLAIMER- I do not own the Fallout series or the setting. However I do own Roland and some other characters including the Jester ghoul (but not ghouls in general). I also own The Sanctuary. DO NOT believe that any of this really happened in the Fallout universe for it is all a figment of my imagination.

I stole a quick glance behind me before hurrying off down Baker Street. It was a dark night, but consisted of no rain, just a piercing, eerie chill. Nobody was stupid enough to come out at this time of night. I knew that I was an idiot coming but the temptation was too much. I regret that now. I knew that I could not out run them. I knew that I could not fight them. I knew that I could not hide. Marylebone was just up ahead, I knew that if I could get to Regent Park before they caught me I would be fine. The windows of most buildings were either smashed or boarded up and several roofs had collapsed in on themselves. Shop mannequins stood silent and watching from behind glass barricades. No shops were open in this part of the city. It was too dangerous now. Broken glass littered the floor, tarnishing a once near perfect paradise. I could hear them now grunting behind me, snorting. I continued now through into Marylebone road, desperate to enter the park. I reached for the iron gates to the park but something grabbed my leg. A thin spindly hand clutched my foot, dragging backwards. I lashed out with my fist before reaching for Helen. Helen was my pistol. She had been with me since I was a teenager, always by my side. The 10mm bullet flew silently and pierced the flesh of one of my pursuers. I fled within the gates and opened the small manhole behind the bush. I looked around and wandered what London must have been like before the bombs fell. It must have been beautiful, with flowers, and grass, and where butterflies dwelled on petals of rosebushes. And in summer bees must have buzzed around, their yellow and black bodies whizzing to and fro whilst birds chirruped in tall green trees. Then in winter, smooth white carpets covered the ground before him and couples skated on the frozen pond whilst children built snowmen of all sizes. But apparently not anymore. Now thanks to the harshness of nuclear fallout, pure, crispy snow was now a dull, brown slush and there were no children or couples to be seen for miles. And come summer there would be no chirping of birdsong or the buzzing of bees. Just the grunt of mole rats and the drone of bloat flies remained. Dead weeds lay limp on the side lines whilst once beautiful flowers withered beside them. My brief thought trail was interrupted by a significant grunt from behind me as an arm gripped my throat and threw me to the floor. Above me was a monster. A hideous mutant created from radiation. Its twisted smile was fixed and glassy eyes stared at me. I reached out with my fist and managed to strike its right eye, causing it blindness as the once relatively solid mush quivered within its socket. It winced and let go. I got to my feet as I pulled out Helen, immediately making sure I placed a bullet within the creatures head. I spun around realising that the thing was not alone. Six more stood around me, each as repulsive as the other. Their skin was a faded green and it was stretched around their bones like a sheet to a mattress. They were not alive, but neither were they dead- but rather somewhere in between. Two more lunged for me as I ducked out of there way; quickly coming around behind one and snapping its neck. The next one was easy. Helen managed to place two bullets within the stomach of the creature, causing a thick orange coloured blood to ooze out. A fourth ghoul timidly approached but was soon taken care of. The remaining creatures scuttled off towards Taunton place and I watched them disappear. I wandered whether I should finish my scavenging trip. I decided that I should as it was unlikely that I was going to get another opportunity like this again. There were a few undamaged houses down Rossmore road so I decided that those would be the best places to look. Upon entering the building that the carpet which lay on the floor in front of me was still mostly intact, this was unusual after what had happened. The first room that I searched was the kitchen- food was scarce nowadays. Damp grew on the wall and a wooden chair lay rotting by a table. The fridge was wide open- it had already been searched. Damn I thought as I left the kitchen and headed up the stairs into a bedroom. Two skeletons lay on a bed, huddled together in a paralyzed fear. I found what I was looking for- jewellery. I could sell this at the market tomorrow. I realized that there was no more to be sought in this house so I headed back to Regent Park. It was the early hours of the morning now and I was getting tired. I climbed down the man hole and into my own piece of haven- The Sanctuary. I was greeted by Caroline. Her tangled bronze hair was even messier today and her eyeliner was smudged- she had been crying.

"Where the heck have you been!" She cried.

"I was out scavenging... I'm fine. Look." I pulled out a necklace that I had taken from the house in Rossmore.

"For... for me?" She said tentatively.

"Of course." I replied. She smiled, and took the necklace from my hand.

"Thank you." She said as she fixed it around her neck. "Wait... your leg?"

I glanced down at my leg and noticed a red stain upon my jeans. "Come on- let's get you to Eagles." I did not understand the need to see the doctor. My leg felt fine. It turns out that it wasn't. The ghoul that had grabbed my leg had really caught it. A large gash reached from halfway down my calf to my ankle. And not only was it wide and long but it was deep. Eagle had to apply a sort of ointment before stitching, sticking me with a stimpack and the bandaging it. The ointment was the worst part. It felt like my leg was being ripped apart be ferals, the burned, reconstructed and burned again. Eagle said that it would heal in a couple of days, but until then I had to rest it. I shall now tell you some history of the sanctuary, as when I was resting I decided to do some research. The book read-

_The Sanctuary as it is known to its dwellers is a relatively new settlement founded in the year 2108 by four men seeking asylum. Their names were Harold Godwin, Tobias Hassildor, James Cook and Carlos Evans. A form of government was introduced in 2120 where one ruling member governed upon all activities. The first dictator was Tobias Hassildor, but was quickly overthrow in a revolt in 2123 and a new government came into power, one where activities were controlled by a council of five members, one of which would be a prime leader. The Sanctuary quickly grew into a thriving community in the heart of London and by 2125 it consisted of over 500 residents. The actual settlement is within the sewers of Regent Park, but can also be accessed through Marylebone Station. Within the settlement is a market, several inns and taverns, a doctors surgery a town hall, church, and several housing estates. The current council is run by Charlotte Quick, Caroline James, William Eagle, Marcus Light and Francis Moore._

I put down my book and lay on my bed in my room. My room. For that is what it was. I owned it but it also owned me. Without it would be lost, alone and probably either dead or a slave. Slavery was quite popular in England. A group called _Caesars Legion_ had command over all of Cornwall and some of Bristol. And whilst thinking about my wonderful, rotting piece of heaven I slowly drifted into unconsciousness.


End file.
